Freight train derailment causes ordeal for Amtrak passengers

CHICAGO (AP) — What was to be a five-hour trip between Chicago and St. Louis turned into a 14-hour ordeal for passengers aboard an Amtrak train due to a truck accident and the derailment of a freight train.

The train left Chicago late Monday with 150 passengers and returned to the city early Tuesday.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the train was first stopped for four hours near Joliet due to a truck accident. The train was forced to stop a second time near Dwight because of a derailment.

The Livingston County Sheriff's Department says a mechanical error with the rails caused a Union Pacific train to leave the track. Nine cars carrying corn were derailed.

After the Amtrak train returned to Chicago, passengers were put on buses to get to their destinations.